Marco Flamingo
Active member
I just spent some time on a bare boat (or bare barge?) charter in France and posted some pictures under 2017 Travels in the Limpet pictures. A little background might help for those who are interested. Years ago, my father got the bug to do this and, since I knew something of boats and my wife speaks French, we were captain and crew. This was one of those vacations that is so enjoyable that it's worth repeating, especially since there are a variety of canals in France.
This time, we did the Lot River. I have to credit my wife with all the research and arrangements. The Lot River has limestone cliffs which are covered with ancient "troglodyte" structures as well as caves with prehistoric paintings. One town we visited during its annual "festival gastronomic," but the food was excellent everywhere and the boat had a nice galley, complete with a pressure cooker (good for goose gizzards) and sharp knives (a rarity on any rental). We went on a truffle hunting excursion with a local and my wife dug one (I finally found a use for a dog on a boat).
The locks were all manual and required more effort than our last trip on the Loire because the changes in height were greater. Still perfectly doable. The boat was 11 meters with a 40 hp Yanmar and no bow thruster. We only had one problem when the lock wasn't closed properly and the water pressure forced the rudder hard over and steerage was lost (I found out when leaving the lock). I had to use just prop walk to do a 180 and get to shore before floating off down the river with my crew still on shore. A little bit exciting. The company had a mechanic there in about 45 minutes. It is about as safe as boating can get. Still, we saw plenty of boats with smashed rub rails and tended to avoid all other traffic, if possible.
There were a couple of sections of the river marked for planing hulls (to appease the water skiers). We only saw one for a few minutes. The planing capabilities of a C Dory would be largely lost, however, there would be other advantages. France is slowly rehabilitating its ancient lock system, but there are sections that remain closed. It isn't actually possible to get from Cahors, where we were, to Bordeaux, even though they are in the same drainage. It would require trailering in a few places. France (and the rest of Europe) is covered with similar ancient canals that don't quite connect, which is okay because it makes them worthless to commercial traffic. There must be over a thousand miles. At 3 knots, and a beautiful little town ever 2 miles, that's a lot of cruising.
Time to ship a C Dory to France for a River Horse type of trip. I'd have to change Limpet to Cheval du fleuve. Changing the name is the easy part.
Mark
This time, we did the Lot River. I have to credit my wife with all the research and arrangements. The Lot River has limestone cliffs which are covered with ancient "troglodyte" structures as well as caves with prehistoric paintings. One town we visited during its annual "festival gastronomic," but the food was excellent everywhere and the boat had a nice galley, complete with a pressure cooker (good for goose gizzards) and sharp knives (a rarity on any rental). We went on a truffle hunting excursion with a local and my wife dug one (I finally found a use for a dog on a boat).
The locks were all manual and required more effort than our last trip on the Loire because the changes in height were greater. Still perfectly doable. The boat was 11 meters with a 40 hp Yanmar and no bow thruster. We only had one problem when the lock wasn't closed properly and the water pressure forced the rudder hard over and steerage was lost (I found out when leaving the lock). I had to use just prop walk to do a 180 and get to shore before floating off down the river with my crew still on shore. A little bit exciting. The company had a mechanic there in about 45 minutes. It is about as safe as boating can get. Still, we saw plenty of boats with smashed rub rails and tended to avoid all other traffic, if possible.
There were a couple of sections of the river marked for planing hulls (to appease the water skiers). We only saw one for a few minutes. The planing capabilities of a C Dory would be largely lost, however, there would be other advantages. France is slowly rehabilitating its ancient lock system, but there are sections that remain closed. It isn't actually possible to get from Cahors, where we were, to Bordeaux, even though they are in the same drainage. It would require trailering in a few places. France (and the rest of Europe) is covered with similar ancient canals that don't quite connect, which is okay because it makes them worthless to commercial traffic. There must be over a thousand miles. At 3 knots, and a beautiful little town ever 2 miles, that's a lot of cruising.
Time to ship a C Dory to France for a River Horse type of trip. I'd have to change Limpet to Cheval du fleuve. Changing the name is the easy part.
Mark
